Guarded
by BMWinter
Summary: There has been skepticism surrounding the current royalty of the Candy Kingdom. The last of her kind, they say. Not even born unto the throne. However loved she may be, her mere existence raises many questions. Princess Fionna and Knight PB AU, not too shippy.
1. Chapter 1

"Princess, are you ready yet?"

"J-just one more minute!" The young girl searched through her drawers frantically, tossing clothes about. She bit her lip in confusion once she had reached the bottom. "Come on, where is it?" she murmured.

"Okay," the voice replied from the other side of her bedroom door, "but the Royal Address begins very soon, and this is very important—"

"I got it PB, I'll be down there in time, don't worry about it!" The girl slammed the drawer and resorted to looking under her bed.

There was a pause. "As you wish, princess." The sound of footsteps soon faded away.

A moment later, the young girl rose to her feet proudly. "Found it!" she breathed. In her hands she held a small, pointed tiara with a single blue stone placed at its center. The girl placed the crown gently on top of her head over her blonde hair. She then quickly brushed herself off and trotted out of the room.

As the girl jogged down the stairs and through the hallway, she was greeted by familiar faces and the sweet scent of sugar. She waved and smiled as her hair flounced around her hips. The candy people returned her greetings with the usual "Good day, Princess."

The girl soon turned a corner to enter the foyer of the castle. She immediately spotted a familiar pink figure on the other side of the room. Sighing, the girl straightened her back and took small steps toward it.

As she drew close, the figure became clearer, revealing a stoic, regal stance dressed in equally regal, knightly clothing. The long, pink hair of the woman was tightly wrapped in a half-bun ponytail of sorts. The tendrils reached down to her waist.

The young girl stopped walking and stood beside the knight. "I told you I'd make it, Peebles."

The woman turned to the girl, revealing a face with a soft expression. She smiled slightly. "I still don't understand why you've given me all these nicknames when they don't even make sense," she chuckled.

"PB for Princess Bonnibel!" The girl beamed. "Or Princess Bubblegum. Peebles, Poibles, and P-Bubs are all just spin-offs." She nudged the knight with her shoulder. "It's unfair if I'm the only princess."

"But the only _true_ princess here," Bubblegum murmured, reaching up and adjusting the blonde girl's crown, "is you, Fionna."

Fionna playfully smacked her hand away and smirked. "Whatever, I'm still gonna call you PB, I've been doing it for way too long."

Bubblegum stood straight once more and faced forward, eyeing the large doors in front of them. Fionna followed her gaze and watched as two guards began to swing them open. Sunlight beamed in through the doorway, causing Fionna to close her eyes. When she blinked them open, a crowd of candy people greeted her, cheering for their princess.

Fionna stood close by Bubblegum as she led her outside and onto the platform. As they walked, Bubblegum whispered to the princess, "Have you decided to not wear your headdress this morning?"

A sudden panic ran through Fionna. Quickly, she brought her hands up to her head and patted around, feeling only her hair. She then touched the area around her neck, sighing in relief when she felt the familiar sheer fabric. Carefully, Fionna reached up and pulled the scarf-hat up and over her head to rest behind her crown. Two rabbit ears bounced comfortably on either side of her head and two sheer tails of fabric laced over her arms. When she was comfortable, she realized she and Bubblegum had both stopped walking, and the crowd had gone silent. She smiled sheepishly.

"Good day, citizens of the Candy Kingdom!" Bubblegum's voice rang out. "Today we gather to celebrate the kingdom's achievement of our highest level of security and prosperity of all time!"

The crowd began an uproarious cheer as Bubblegum paused. When they quieted down, she continued. "We are happy to announce the appointment of new guards who are more than willing to protect the kingdom, as well as our beloved princess." Bubblegum gestured to the side opposite Fionna as four armored candy folk stepped forward. The crowd clapped in congratulations before they stepped back once more. "We are also accommodating more citizens than has ever been allowed in all of written history. We hope that on this day, all of the kingdom can come together in absolute peace to honor our achievements thus far. Let us rejoice!"

And with that, the crowd erupted into a fit of cheering. A chant began to build within: "Princess, princess, princess!" Fionna felt herself blush as she smiled.

Another moment passed as Bubblegum sent the guards to their stations and dismissed the candy people. Fionna then followed her back into the castle, the large doors closing behind them and the sunlight slipping away once more. The princess sighed and slouched her shoulders.

"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Bubblegum teased as they turned into the hallway.

"That's because you did all the talking and junk!" Fionna groaned. "If I had said anything it would have been dumb. I don't even know why I was there anyway…"

Bubblegum chuckled. "You are the icon of the people. Everyone looks up to you." When she saw the princess shake her head in disbelief, she stopped walking. "Fionna."

The blonde girl stopped and turned to face her knight, who looked at her with a solemn smile. "You are the princess," she said softly. "You give the kingdom hope, as well as hold the very foundation on which it is built." Bubblegum then gently rested a gloved hand on her shoulder. "I, we, all care very much about you."

The blush that would have settled in Fionna's cheeks stayed in her stomach, making her feel uneasy. She slowly pulled away from Bubblegum's grasp. "Thanks PB," she muttered, turning around. "I can get back to my room by myself." Fionna then began walking down the hallway and back up the stairs, holding on tightly to her headdress the whole way.

* * *

The chill of wintry air sat stagnant in the room of a high, ice-covered tower. Inside the room, a woman rested quietly in her chair, examining the contents of a suitcase that sat on her lap. She sighed as she picked up one of the items: an old VHS tape, much older than the rest that filled the case. There was an agonizing silence as she found herself growing angry. After a moment, she threw the tape back into the case and slammed it shut. "Evil," she murmured, feeling a tear rest on the corner of her eye. "EVIL!"

At that moment a wide-eyed feline rushed into the room on all fours. "Ice Queen is everything alright?"

"No, NOTHING is alright!" The queen screeched, jumping to her feet with the suitcase at her side. Her long white hair seemed to bristle with fury. "These tapes are evil, they need to be buried, gone forever, _never seen again—!_"

Ice Queen's words were cut short by a soft buzzing sound. She looked down to see the spotted cat looking up at her with pleading eyes, her tail swishing back and forth. Reluctantly, Ice Queen let the air out of her lungs mid-breath and slouched. She relaxed back into her chair half-heartedly and waited as the feline leapt onto her lap and settled. "Calm."

A grumble began in the mage's throat, but the cat's tail whipped up to cover her mouth before she could even speak. "Ah ah ah," she scolded. "I said_ calm._"

The Ice Queen sighed, pulling the suitcase up and holding it out in front of her and the cat. "I want you to get rid of this," she hissed. "Make sure no one can ever find them, destroy them if you must. I never want them in my sight ever again!"

Unexpectedly, the cat reached an arm up and extended it, stretching and wrapping it around the case tightly and pulling it out of the queen's grasp. "What's in it?" she mused, shaking it slightly.

"Nothing! Nothing of yours or anyone's concern."

The cat frowned and leapt off the mage's lap and onto the floor, suitcase still in tow. "How soon?" she asked, moving the case back to carry it with her tail.

"As soon as possible. And as far away as possible, even as far as the grasslands." The queen's long eyebrows sharpened at the last word.

The feline looked stunned. "The grasslands? I've never even really explored that region—"

"Cake." The Ice Queen eyed the cat menacingly. "I want them as good as gone as soon as possible. Can you, or can't you?!"

Cake frowned and turned to the tower window, stretching a hand out to grab it. "I should be back by sundown." And with that the feline was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Fionna fell face-first into the comfort of her bed. She groaned loudly as she remembered the days events: cleaning out her wardrobe, practicing table manners, standing by as each and every guard was re-knighted by the new code—

"UGH!" The princess flipped over onto her back, spitting out a mouthful of blonde hair. She had been beyond bored the entire time, and itching for some sort of excitement, or at least a bit more movement. Without looking down, Fionna popped her heels out of her shoes and flung them onto the floor without a second thought.

"Oof!" A small voice and a hollow thud alerted Fionna, and she glanced over the side of her bed. By one of her shoes, a teal video-game console lay on its back, its arms and legs flailing.

"Oh glob!" Fionna immediately reached down and picked the console up and set it upright in front of her in a sitting position. "I'm so sorry BMO, I didn't know you were down there!"

BMO shook his entire body as a way of shaking his head. His screen blinked as a face appeared, smiling up at Fionna. "It's okay, Fionna," he mused in his broken up accent. "I was just wondering if you wanted to play a new game with me."

"Oh, yeah, totally," Fionna crossed her legs and watched as BMO opened one of his doors and pulled out a controller. He tossed it to Fionna and she caught it with ease. "So what kind of game is it?"

"A fighting game," BMO explained. "You must go on a quest to save your comrades and battle the evil Frost King and his minions."

"Heh, alright cool." Fionna smiled and listened as a familiar beeping noise melted into music. BMO's face soon blinked to give way to more color, and Fionna made out the image of an old man in blue with a large white beard. She laughed and began playing, beating snowmen into the ground and forgetting all about the stress that had built up during the day.

A good hour into the game, Fionna stifled a yawn. Her game then unexpectedly paused, and the screen returned to BMO's face. "Do you need to sleep, princess?"

At the sound of her title, Fionna's shoulders slouched. "N-nah, I'm good, let's keep playing."

"You look tired." BMO then stood on his feet. As he did this, the cord of the game controller recoiled and snapped the device back into its case. The console then shut the door.

Fionna blinked in disbelief. "What? It's not even really dark yet, I can stay up!" What may have convinced BMO was buried in another uncontrollable yawn.

The game console smiled. "I understand wanting to have fun for as long, as possible," he advised, "but you are the princess, and sleeping now means you can be wide awake tomorrow."

The uneasy feeling in Fionna's stomach immediately returned. She had been so at peace playing the game, she had almost forgotten the high place of power she was in. Just as BMO began moving toward the edge of the bed to climb down to the floor, Fionna stopped him.

"BMO, could I talk to you about something, before I sleep?" she pleaded. "It's starting to really bug me."

BMO took his seat once more. "Of course, Fionna."

"Well, it's just…" Fionna took a steady breath. "Lately, I've been wondering whether I'm really fit to be a princess." BMO face seemed to brighten in surprise, but the girl continued. "I just don't get all this fancy royal junk! I guess it's pretty rad having everyone look up to me, but it's a lot of pressure, and I don't feel like the right person for it." Fionna groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "And I don't even do that much, compared to Bonnie. I think I just need to get out of the castle more or something."

BMO remained silent. Her head still in her hands, Fionna murmured, "BMO, do you ever get lonely up here in the castle all day?"

A pause. "But you are here."

Fionna looked up from her hands. "Nah, I mean, when I'm not here playing games with you, doing princessy biz." She straightened her back. "Do you ever feel like you need a friend?"

A moment went by without a reply from BMO. Suddenly, he averted his gaze, and then shut off his screen. Fionna sighed, thinking that it was explanation enough. "Goodnight BMO, I'll see you in the morning." Face dark, he scrambled to the side of the bed and climbed down.

Fionna followed suit on the other side and made her way over to her closet. She quickly discarded her dress and put on pajamas, then placed her crown on the drawer and wrapped her hair up, tying her scarf-hat around it. Forgetting to brush her teeth, the princess made a trip around her room and turned off the lights, save for the weak twilight of the setting sun outside her window. She then crawled into bed and under the covers, yawning once more for good measure before quickly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A purple tint seemed to settle across Ooo in low light. Cake squinted in the direction of the already-set sun as she traipsed through the forest, lashing her tail with the suitcase on her back. "Rats," she muttered. "It's sunset and I still have no clue where to hide this dang thing!"

In a moment, she had reached the end of the forest. Cake surveyed the land before her. Nothing but grassy hills and open plains met her eye. "The grasslands," she breathed. "Globbit all, how'm I supposed to hide _anything_ here?"

As her gaze swept the landscape, her eyes seemed to land on a single tree. A thought came to her mind to bury it beside it or the like. Without a better option, she flattened her tail against her back to tighten her grip on the suitcase, and began sprinting toward it.

As Cake drew closer to the tree, she realized just how enormous it really was. The leaves and foliage hung down like drapes over its large branches, and its trunk and roots were as wide as a house. "Wow," she marveled, slowing down to take in the great sight. The twilight left it glowing pink for a moment before plunging into a starry darkness.

Cake examined the roots and crevices at the base of the tree. At one place, she spotted an opening just large enough for even the Ice Queen to walk comfortably through. The cat trotted over and slipped under the roots and into the trunk.

She was immediately greeted by blackness, but as her eyes adjusted, she could make out what was around her. She saw a boarded floor and walls, neatly applied and nailed to perfection. On one wall, she could make out a ladder, leading up and beyond the ceiling. "What the…" as Cake squinted at the fixture, she suddenly felt a looming presence over her. Slowing turning around, she saw a large, sharp-toothed smile and bright red eyes glaring through her own.

A loud shriek echoed through the room and Cake jumped up and back into the wall. The suitcase slid to the floor as her tail began to quiver and frizz in terror.

The creature's mouth opened and released a hearty laugh. With a snap, the room was lit by candlelight and the creature took the appearance of a teenage girl, her long black hair sweeping the floor where her feet did not touch. Her fangs gleamed as she smiled. "Hey pretty kitty."

Cake's heart was beating a mile a minute. Her eyes widened as she began to recognize the girl's features, her eyes landing on two red scars on her neck. "V-v-v," she stuttered, scrambling backward in fear.

The girl swooped down and around the feline. "Do you mean, vampire?" She punctuated her correction with a hiss, making Cake curl inward further. "Oh but not only that. The Vampire _Queen_."

Without a second thought, Cake jumped to all fours and made a dash for the exit, but the Vampire Queen snaked into her path, stopping her in her tracks. "You're trespassing," she stated simply, kneeling to stare directly at Cake with sharp, curious eyes. "I'll give you three seconds to say why."

"Suitcase," Cake breathed, her fear reaching its peak. She looked to where she had been moments ago, and stretched out an arm to slide the case in front of her. "I didn't mean to trespass, I swear I didn't know."

The vampire snatched the case out of Cake's grasp. She eyed it up and down, a smile creeping onto her lips. "How human," she murmured. "What, did you steal it from the princess?"

Cake's fear subsided to confusion. "Princess? What princess?"

The Vampire Queen rolled her eyes noticeably. She lounged in mid-air, resting the case on her torso. "You know, the princess of the Candy Kingdom, supposedly the last human, yadda yadda?" She chuckled. "Don't tell me you stole from her and didn't even realize who you were stealing from—"

"Hey, I ain't a thief," Cake asserted, but immediately recoiled. "I-I don't even know, who you're talking about."

Sighing, the Vampire Queen floated to the side, no longer blocking the exit. "Why don't you just get out of here, cat."

Cake made a start for the opening, but froze once she realized the case was no longer in her possession. She eyed the queen. "But—"

"I said LEAVE!" In an instant, the girl's face morphed into that of a hideous, bat-like beast, growling and angry. Shrieking, Cake burst through the opening and dashed straight for the Ice Kingdom.


	3. Chapter 3

A thin crack of silver light slipped through the drapes of Fionna's bedroom, creating a sharp line of white along her walls. The princess blinked, her mind numb with sleep, yet restless. Groaning she sat up and pushed her covers off her torso, pressing her palms into her eyes. She knew sleeping early would throw her off, and now she was going to lose sleep because of it. Blinking her eyes open, Fionna wondered about the time, when suddenly the strip of moonlight illuminating her room vanished.

Plunged into darkness, Fionna turned to face her window. She had felt no breeze nor heard the rustling of a tree. "What the stuff?" she muttered. As her eyes adjusted, the princess swung her feet over the edge of the bed and hopped onto the floor, trudging over to the window. The second she pulled the drapes back, the moon became visible once more, bright and impossible to miss. Fionna shrugged and made the decision to turn around and go back to bed when an unknown object settled on top of her head, brushing it lightly. Frozen, she turned her head upward slowly to be greeted by two beaming eyes and glistening fangs.

"Boo."

Fionna screeched as she scrambled backward into her room. A laugh circled around her, light yet mocking. Feeling around frantically, she managed to find her desk, and eventually her lamp. With shaking hands she pulled the chain and light spilled into the room. Fionna blinked, breaths short, and quickly surveyed the room, fists instinctively up in defense. A moment passed before she assumed the room was empty and her shaky breaths collected in a sigh. She slowly dropped her fists, relaxing to sit on the edge of her bed, when a dark figure seemed to materialize in front of her in a respectful, straight-backed stance.

"Well hello there, your highness," it hummed, bowing.

Fionna's heart was thumping wildly behind her ribcage and in her ears. She curled her fingers, grabbing her sheets, and watched as the creature flipped back a curtain of black hair and stepped toward her in pristine red boots. "W-who," she stuttered, shifting backward, "Who are you?"

The creature—a teenage girl?—responded with a fanged smile, stopping just in front of the princess. "I'm Marceline, the Vampire Queen."

"Vampire…?" Fionna repeated, frozen in terror.

"That's right." Marceline leaned in close and slithered her tongue, her hands brought up and fingers curled like claws.

Without hesitation, Fionna grabbed the vampire's shoulders and shoved her backward with all her might. "Get away!" she yelled, fear and anger mingling. Marceline hissed, taken aback and caught off guard. Fionna jumped to her feet, her fists coming up once more in a weak fighting stance. "I'm not letting you suck my blood!"

In an instant, Marceline's shock gave way to laughter. She clutched her stomach, feet rising into the air as she began to float. "Oh man! I'm not gonna suck your blood," she sneered. "At least not tonight." Fionna remained unconvinced and kept her stance, watching in fascination and fear as Marceline floated her way over to her curtains. "I eat shades of red," the queen informed her, and before Fionna could protest she brought the fabric to her lips and drained them of their pale fuschia color, leaving behind a dull gray.

Fionna's fist dropped slowly to her sides and her back straightened. "But, then why are you here?" she implored.

"Eh, thought I'd check the security around here." Marceline then turned her back to Fionna, surveying the land outside her window. "Pretty weak if you ask me."

_Security?_ Fionna thought. It was then that she noticed the large blood-red axe situated on Marceline's back like a pack. Underneath, another object was secured, but Fionna found herself walking backward. "Did you kill my guards?!" she practically yelled.

"Hm?" The vampire queen turned a lazy, pouting face in the princess's direction, noticing her eyeing the axe. "What? Oh, no this is my bass," she clarified, swinging it to her front and twisting her body around. Flipping a switch, she began playing a short riff, flying up and around the room and Fionna.

The blonde girl relaxed slightly. "Oh, heh." She smiled as Marceline swirled around her. "That's pretty math."

Marceline looked up and smiled herself. "Thanks. Made it myself."

Fionna laughed lightly. Her nerves were calmed by the music, and she was beginning to judge Marceline as friendly, but she remained skeptical. Her gaze shifted to the window. "So, if you didn't kill my guards, where are they?"

The vampire shrugged. "Tied up or knocked out, most of them. Some probably went and squealed, but they're all pretty slow." She began thumbing at her bass again, playing a different tune and floating gracefully around the room once more. "Thought I might as well take the chance to scope out Ooo's most prized possession while I'm in the neighborhood."

"Huh?" Fionna looked up, puzzled.

Marceline's playing stopped abruptly. "Duh, _you_, dorkwad."

"Me…?"

"Come on, you mean you don't know you're the last human on the planet? Or at least that's what they all say. You're like a violently endangered species." The queen chuckled at her own misplaced analogy.

Fionna's breath caught in her throat. She absentmindedly reached a hand up to rub at her collarbones as her gaze shifted to nothing in particular. "The last human…" she murmured.

"Yep," Marceline invaded her thoughts. "And uh, by the way, I managed to snag this, thought I'd return it." Fionna watched as Marceline unlatched the other object she saw earlier from her back and tossed it at her, nearly reacting too late. She caught it, realizing it was a suitcase. Confused, Fionna looked back up at Marceline but she spoke in her place. "Don't worry, I didn't look inside, figured I'd respect your privacy or whatevs."

"But this isn't mine," Fionna immediately interjected. Marceline's floating stilled to a frozen hang. The vampire queen raised an eyebrow at her. "I've never seen this before," she continued. "But, it has a plaque near the lock—"

Without warning, Marceline's blurred figure swooped down and snatched the case out of Fionna's hands. The princess hunched her shoulders as the vampire's breaths grew noticeably short, her eyes staring at the plaque as if they were looking straight through, her hands gripped tight on the edges. "… Petrikov…" she muttered.

A sudden violent knocking from the bedroom door caused both girls to jump. The doorknob began to rattle as a voice yelled from the other side, "FIONNA ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

Marceline snapped out of her trance immediately, swinging her suitcase and bass onto her back once more. "Whoops, guess that's my cue. It was nice talking to you kid." With a smirk she began to float toward the window.

"Wait!" Fionna lunged out and grabbed her arm. Marceline spun around, but before she could make a sound the princess pleaded, "Am I, really the last human?"

The vampire queen held her breath, hesitating. In the same moment, the crash of the bedroom door being kicked and swung open caught their attention. In the doorway stood a fully-suited Bonnibel, candy-cane sword in hand and eyes wild. Her gaze fell immediately on Marceline like a target.

"YOU!"

The queen chuckled. "Yikes. I'll catch you later kid, it was fun." And with that she swooped out of the window and into the night.

"Rats," Bonnibel sighed, sheathing her sword. She hustled over to Fionna, who was left starting as the rustled curtains. "She didn't hurt you did she?"

Fionna looked at her bodyguard, puzzled. "What, no way, she was actually really cool!"

"'Really cool?' Oh no no no, Fionna, you can't associate with her," she mulled, grabbing Fionna's shoulders. "She's bad news."

"What? But she—"

"You just can't Fionna! You can't…" Bonnibel stressed. She took a deep breath and a long blink. "If she ever makes it back up here again, alert whoever's nearest immediately." The knight then released her grip on the princess and began heading for the doorway.

Fionna looked down at her hands for a moment, then looked up once more. "Peebles?"

Bonnibel stopped and turned.

"Do you, know her?"

A pause. The knight's stoic stance seemed to falter ever so slightly under an unseen weight. She turned her back on the princess.

"Unfortunately."

Bonnibel then left in silence. Two steps and the click of a handle left Fionna alone once more.


End file.
